Meet the IWK Read to Me! Coordinator

It's hard to believe that I've been with the Read to Me! Program for a full year! As the IWK Coordinator, I spend time visiting with the families and delivering the Read to Me! bags. I love the excitement and enthusiasm of families as they realize the joy and benefits of story, songs and rhymes in their new baby's development.

I recently met a family on the elevator as they were being transferred from the birth unit. In her arms, mom had a baby that was only 3 hours old. She stopped me and asked when I could bring her a Read to Me! bag. She had intended to bring baby books with her to the hospital but had forgotten them! Mom and Dad were thrilled to receive the Read to Me! bag so they could start reading with their little one right away.

When I started with Read to Me! I was amazed to see how many babies are born in Nova Scotia each year. Half of those births take place at the IWK Health Centre. I get to meet with over 4000 new families each year! We also have a team of dedicated weekend volunteers who cover weekends and holidays so that no one misses receiving their bright yellow bag.

Another exciting part of the Read to Me! Program at the IWK is the volunteer Reading Program. An enthusiastic crew of over 30 trained Read to Me! volunteers read to children awaiting medical treatment in Same Day Surgery, Emergency Department and Outpatient Clinics. Our volunteers have read to over 2000 children this year! Some of the readers' favourite books are 'Bark, George!' and any of the books starring Froggy or Olivia.

It’s wonderful to see the way a book can have such a positive impact on our families. Whether it be handing out books for newborns, or reading to children awaiting medical treatment, books are a fun way of reminding parents to read to their children - today and everyday.

A Special Thanks to ...

Thanks to the generous support of Dexter's Subaru and Subaru Canada, Read to Me! has been crisscrossing the province bringing the gift of books to every child born in Nova Scotia. Dexter's presented Read to Me! with a Subaru Legacy, which has been fondly named 'The Readmobile'. It is fitting that Dexter's have given us a Legacy, as they are helping to create a literacy legacy in Nova Scotia.

This spring we were thrilled to receive a $500,000 grant from the Counselling Foundation of Canada. The Counselling Foundation has helped to nurture Read to Me! through our developmental years with operating grants of $250,000. The Foundation's latest contribution to the program brings their support to $750,000.

The Counselling Foundation Grant was matched with a $500,000 grant from the Halifax Youth Foundation. The Halifax Youth Foundation, a Founding Partner of Read to Me!, had a vision for a province-wide early literacy program, and have provided ongoing financial support to make that dream a reality.

In future issues we will be highlighting donations and gifts in kind from our many generous supporters.

Research Update

Read to Me! is committed to research and evaluation to ensure we are meeting our literacy goals.

To help measure the impact of the program our Research Coordinator Dr. Patrick McGrath, working with a wonderful team of students, has conducted research on the Read to Me! Reading Program in Day Surgery looking at whether reading to children awaiting treatment reduced their anxiety levels. Results of the research show anxiety levels of children aged 5-8 years old were significantly reduced after being read to.

This spring Dr. McGrath and his research team began a survey of approximately 1,000 families who have received Read to Me! Bags. The results of the survey will help us evaluate each of the gift bag components and measure shared reading practices in families.

We have also partnered with Research Works! For Child Literacy, a five-year Social Science and Humanities Research Grant which is helping to build research capacity and evidence-based decision making about child literacy.